U.S. authorities on Thursday crushed 6 tons of seized ivory, each piece cut from dead elephants, signaling resolve to kill a $10 billion illicit trade linked to international crime and terrorism. Tusks and carved objects seized from airports and border crossings over the past two decades were loaded into a blue rock-grinder near a warehouse at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge where the ivory was kept, and pulverized it all into fine chips. "By taking this action, the United States will help raise the profile of the issue and inspire other nations," said Judy Garber, deputy assistant secretary of state, one of the senior Obama administration officials in Colorado for the invitation-only event. "All of us have to step up our game and work together to put an end to this before we lose the species forever." Poached ivory may have financed the recent Somali terrorist attack on Kenya's Westgate mall, Garber said: "That issue is being looked into." This first U.S.…Read More

Last week, the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service ground up 6 tons of ivory that had been seized from illegal imports and interstate sales since 1989 when an international trade ban went into effect. The Obama administration destroyed the U.S. stock to remind the world that the voracious global appetite for ivory and ivory…Read More